You’re absolutely sure that headphones aren’t plugged into your iPhone, because, well, they’re not. You see “Headphones” above the volume slider when you press the volume buttons, but your iPhone isn’t making any sound. You’ve tried a hard reset, putting your headphones in, and taking them out again, but it’s not working. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone is stuck in headphone mode, an awesome trick to get junk out of your headphone jack or Lightning port, and how to fix the problem for good!
My iPhone Doesn’t Have A Headphone Jack! How Can It Be Stuck In Headphones Mode?
Apple got rid of the headphone jack when they released the iPhone 7. It was very controversial at the time, but many people have moved onto using Bluetooth headphones like AirPods.
However, Apple didn’t completely eliminate the ability to use wired headphones on newer iPhones. Your purchase of an iPhone 7 or newer model includes a pair of wired headphones that plug directly into your iPhone’s Lightning port (also known as the charging port).
A new iPhone 7, 8, or X also includes a dongle which lets you connect your old headphones to your iPhone’s Lightning port. However, Apple stopped including this dongle with the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.
Even though the iPhone 7 and newer models don’t have a traditional headphone jack, they can still get stuck in headphones mode! The steps below will help you fix any model iPhone that is stuck on headphone mode.
No, iPhone, There Aren’t Headphones Plugged In!
Your iPhone is stuck on headphone mode because it thinks headphones are plugged into the headphone jack or Lightning port, even though they’re not. This is usually caused by a problem with the headphone jack or Lightning port itself. 99% of the time it’s a hardware problem, not a software problem.
Eliminate The Possibility Of A Software Problem
The easiest way to make sure a software problem isn’t causing your iPhone to stay stuck in headphones mode is to turn it off and back on again. To turn off your iPhone, press and hold the power button (also known as the Sleep / Wake button) and slide the button next to “slide to power off” across the screen.
If you have an iPhone X or newer, press and hold the Side button and either volume button until “slide to power off” appears on the screen. Swipe the power icon left to right to shut down your iPhone X or newer.
It can take 20 seconds or so for your iPhone to turn off, and that’s completely normal. To turn your iPhone back on, hold the power button (iPhone 8 and older) or the Side button (iPhone X and newer) until the Apple logo appears on the screen. You can let go of the power button or Side button when the Apple logo appears.
If your iPhone is still stuck on headphones mode after your iPhone turns back on, there’s a hardware problem with your iPhone. At this point, this problem is being caused by one of two possibilities:
- Debris stuck inside the headphone jack or Lightning port is fooling your iPhone into thinking that headphones are plugged in.
- The headphone jack or Lightning port is damaged, either physically or by liquid.
Take A Look Inside Your iPhone
Grab a flashlight and shine it inside your iPhone’s headphone jack or Lightning port. Is there any debris stuck inside? I’ve seen everything from rice, to brown goo, to broken-off tips of cheap headphones stuck inside. Trying to extract something from your iPhone’s headphone jack or Lightning port is extremely difficult, and some Apple techs won’t even try.
Poking around in your iPhones headphone jack or Lightning port can cause damage, but most people I’ve worked with agreed it was worth the risk because they really had nothing to lose. If I had to guess, I’d say I was successful about 50% of the time when I tried to extract something from a customer’s headphone jack when I worked at an Apple Store.
How Do I Get Junk Out Of My iPhone’s Headphone Jack?
There’s no right way to do this, and Apple Stores don’t have any tools designed to extract debris from headphone jacks. There are, however, some unofficial tricks that Apple techs sometimes use to get stuff out. Be careful — none of these are Apple-approved methods because they can cause damage, but I’ve had success with each of them in different situations.
The BIC Pen Trick
I really wanted to write this article so I could share this trick with you. An Apple Genius showed me how to do it, and I still think it’s brilliant. Be warned: Your pen will not survive this procedure. Here’s how to use a BIC pen to remove debris from an iPhone’s headphone jack:
- Use a standard BIC pen and remove the cap.
- Use pliers to pull the pen tip away from the plastic housing.
- The tip is attached to a circular plastic cartridge that contains the ink.
- The opposite end of the cartridge is the perfect size to remove debris from the headphone jack.
- Insert that end into the headphone jack and gently twist to loosen the debris, and then shake it out of your iPhone or iPad.
I’ve saved lots of headphone jacks using this trick. Be careful not to press too hard. If the debris isn’t coming out, move on to the next tip.
Compressed Air
Try using a can of compressed air to blow air directly into your iPhone’s headphone jack. This may work even if you don’t see anything stuck inside. Compressed air can loosen debris just enough to shake it out or blow it out completely. Be gentle: Don’t stick the hose all the way into your iPhone’s headphone jack and start blowing. Start from the outside of your iPhone and work your way in.
If you don’t have a can of compressed air, you can try blowing it out yourself, but I don’t particularly like that option because our breath contains moisture that can damage your iPhone’s internal circuitry. If you feel like you have nothing to lose, then by all means, give it a try.
Tweezers
Really thin tweezers can sometimes reach just far enough inside to pull a piece of rice or other debris out of an iPhone’s headphone jack. Using tweezers is risky, though. It’s a lot like the game called Operation (by Milton Bradley). It’s very easy to damage the sides of the headphone jack if you shove tweezers in too far.
I Don’t Recommend This, But…
Some tech-savvy people (and secretly, some Apple Geniuses) have had success extracting debris from iPhone headphone jacks by disassembling the iPhone and poking the debris out from the underneath of the headphone jack. There are some excellent teardown guides of iPhones if you’d like to try, but I don’t recommend you do.
How Do I Get Junk Out Of My iPhone’s Lightning Port?
Just like a headphone jack, it can be difficult to remove gunk and debris from from a Lightning port. The safest way to remove debris from an iPhone Lightning port is to use an anti-static brush.
If you try to clean out the Lightning port with an object like a paperclip or a thumbtack, you can run the risk of causing an electrical charge within your iPhone, which could cause even more damage. Toothpicks are also risky, because they can splinter and get stuck inside your iPhone.
However, most people don’t own an anti-static brush, and that’s okay. A brand new, unused toothbrush makes a fine substitute if you don’t have an anti-static brush.
The Cocktail Straw Trick
This method could also be called the “coffee stirrer” trick, as either utensil can be used. Flatten out the tip of your cocktail straw or coffee stirrer so it can fit inside your iPhone’s Lightning port. Use the flat tip of the straw to scrape or scoop any gunk out of the Lightning port.
Compressed air and tweezers are also possible solutions if something is lodged in your in your iPhone’s Lightning port.
I’ve Tried Everything And My iPhone Is Still Stuck On Headphone Mode!
If your iPhone still isn’t working after you’ve tried everything above, there’s a good chance your iPhone needs to be repaired. Usually, the headphone jack or the Lightning port on an iPhone will stop working for one of two reasons:
Water Damage
A very common reason for iPhones getting stuck in headphones mode is water damage, and a lot of the time people don’t know how it could have happened. Here’s how the conversation went: I’d ask, “Are you an athlete?”, and they would say yes. I’d ask, “Do you listen to music when you run or work out?”, and they’d say yes again. Can you guess what happened?
A lot of the time, this is problem is caused when sweat runs down the cord of an athlete’s headphones. At some point, a small amount of sweat gets inside the headphone jack or Lightning port and causes their iPhone to get stuck in headphone mode.
Other types of water damage can cause this problem too — it doesn’t take much. The headphone jack on older iPhones and the Lightning port on newer iPhones are two of the only openings on the outside of the iPhone, and that makes them particularly susceptible to water damage. Even if the rest of an iPhone works perfectly after it gets wet, the headphone jack or Lightning port may not.
Physical Damage
If your iPhone is smashed into 1000 pieces, you probably know what’s wrong. If it’s still in one piece, there is another very common reason why iPhones get stuck on headphone mode: The headphone jack or Lightning port gets pulled away from the logic board.
“Wait a second. I keep my iPhone in great shape.”
Plugging headphones in and out of your iPhone should never cause this problem. I’ve never seen it occur from normal use. Here’s the question I’d ask: “Do you wrap your headphones around your iPhone when you’re not using it?” The customer would say yes. (Come to think of it, the same Genius who turned me on to the BIC pen trick told me this, too. I’d give him credit if I didn’t think he could get in trouble.) Can you guess what happened here?
After a while, the strain from the headphones wrapped around the iPhone on the end plugged into the headphone jack or Lightning port becomes so great that they entirely start to pull away from the logic board. It’s OK to wrap your headphones around your iPhone, as long as you unplug them when you do.
Unfortunately, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance the damage is already done and you’ll need to repair your iPhone.
Repair Options: Apple vs. Puls
This problem is especially frustrating for people who go to the Apple Store because the only repair option Apple offers to fix a broken headphone jack is to replace the entire iPhone. A lot of people simply refuse, opting instead to use a Bluetooth headset or speaker dock to make and receive phone calls, but it’s a major inconvenience when the sound doesn’t work on your iPhone.
The case is similar for broken iPhone Lightning ports. Apple will typically just replace your iPhone if its Lightning port is broken. The replacement is covered by your AppleCare+ warranty.
To make matters worse, debris stuck inside your iPhone’s headphone jack or Lightning port isn’t covered under warranty, so repairing this simple problem can be very expensive.
Puls
If you’d like to repair your iPhone today for a lot less than Apple, Puls will meet you at home or a location of your choice in less than an hour, and they offer a lifetime warranty on parts and labor.
Get A New Cell Phone
You may want to consider getting a new phone instead of having your current one repaired. iPhone repairs can get expensive quickly. If more than one component is damaged — which isn’t uncommon if you dropped your iPhone or exposed it to water — the repair company typically has to replace every part, not just the headphone jack. Check out the UpPhone cell phone comparison tool to review your options!
Wrapping It Up
It’s frustrating when an iPhone gets stuck in headphones mode, because it seems like a simple problem should have a simple solution. It’s unfortunate that a tiny piece of debris or a little drop of water can have such a detrimental effect on your iPhone. I sincerely hope that your iPhone is no longer stuck on headphone mode, but if it is, at least you know what to do next. Feel free to leave a comment below. I’d like to hear about any creative ways you’ve found to remove debris from the headphone jack or Lightning port of your iPhone.
sprayed compressed air into mine and that cleared up
Taking the SIM card out and putting it back worked for me. Thanks!
I have to add, this is not just as simple as a hardware or software issue. I had this issue for the first time a few months ago. I had my phone replaced, new phone arrived and worked fine, then about 3 weeks later my newly replaced phone did the same thing. I replaced my phone 3 times since then and had the same issue happen all three times. I’m about to have my phone replaced for the 4th time because of this issue. There definitly is something to be said about the software error being attached to your backed… Read more »
A vacuum works best fixed my problem
Combo of cut in half q-tip (using cut end) inserted and rotated gently seemed to remove some dust but it wasnt til I used a little compressed air just outside the headphone jack did it turn back to volume and get it out of headphone mode. (Test by pressing volume control) yay!
My phone is stuck on headphone mode because of earbuds how do I fix that
My friends dog knocked a drink out of my hand and onto my phone, and kicked it straight into headphones mode. Fortunately the cotton swab trick worked perfectly! I pulled out a chunk of lint and it set itself back to normal right away.
A lot of fantastic advice, ,y phone was stuck in hapeadphne mode, I tried switching on/off, cleaning out the headphone socket none of that worked, but what did work for me was blowing gently into the headphone socket and then gently sucking out the air , phone works again brilliant.
Thank you so much for this hairdryer trick, It saved my iphone!!
Thank you all for your input. Some minute drop of water got into the headphone jack. I tried the bic pen thing, sucking on the port, and light compressed air. What actually worked was tightly rolling the corner of a napkin into a point and gently inserting into the headphone port while twisting the pointed napkin end. It worked immediately. I am so pleased.
Thanks for the tips! Got my phone working again. For now…
i used a needle and a light to remove the debris, it worked pretty well, but also used two like tiny chopsticks to take out the bigger peices, it worked really well
I broke a QTip in half and used the broken ends to clean some black gunk out after reading this post. I inherited this phone from my little brother is an accountant for a welding business, so all those particles must’ve gotten lodged in there! Thank you for saving me a trip and $$$!
hello! I had this problem and tried everything, what worked for me was to turn off bluetooth and the problem got fixed! Hope this helps someone!
Thank You!!! I tried all the tricks, the one that worked for me was using the compressed air to dislodge debris from the headphone jack. I held the phone, headphone jack was facing down, sprayed the compressed air up so that debris would fall out. It took several attempts but worked. So grateful!
All of these did not help thx alot for making me get a new phone
I was able to clear out my earphone jack by using a small soft twist-tie twisted small enough to be inserted into hole and then gently twisting. Worked for me.
After dropping phone in toilet. Put it in baggie with uncooked rice. After a few hours it worked. So far…
Love your site, thank you! Spilled my coffee, phone was on counter & suddenly I’m locked on “headphones”. Apple support said bring in to store. Tried everything at home, then placed clean paper towel over end of my blow dryer & aimed at the headphones jack for few seconds. Voila! Worked.
Bloody annoying though
The pen ink cartridge worked for me. An end broke off inside from a pair of earbuds. Thanks for the help
thank you! I fixed it! Appreciate your help. What a relief 🙂
I just tried rolling up Kleenex and inserting and rotating a few times. This did the trick. I would have it on in the shower and the Kleenex must have absorbed the moisture. Thanks everyone and good luck!
Thanks for that. The BIC pen trick got me back working.
Thank you so much. I tried using the back of the pen and it worked. Thanks again.
iphone 6s was stuck on headphones, did all steps, then took out sims card and put it back and it is fixed!
Yes, thank you!
The air worked after i blew it on the silver things inside the jack, thankyou
After hours of trying everything people recommended, the solution was simple. I turned Bluetooth off. Problem solved.
I was advised to take my iphone to an Apple store for same day repair……
As I really need it for an important video call I tried to fix it myself by blowing hot air into the headphone socket with a hairdryer (on full power) IT HAS WORKED!
Thank you Very much it really worked for me
Unwittingly, got moisture in my headphone jack, rolled 1″ squares of kitchen roll diaonally into tiny pointed tube shapes, carefully probed the headphone jack with new dry probes until they came out dry at the point. Turned phone off and on, hey pressto speaker works and the headphone message is gone, thanks for making me think about it.
Ive fix my iphone headphone jack stuck. Using a filter of sigarretes . Thanks to marlborro. Haha
This fixed my phone! Literally today I got drenched with rainwater from a car and I was so worried there was severe water damage, but there was some brown stuff in my jack that I would’ve never noticed unless I read about it here. I cleaned it with a soft brush tip from my drawing tablet pen and it worked like a charm!
My iPhone doesnt have a headphone jack… I think its an 8.
Thanks a lot for the pen tricks.. You saved my Iphone.. Thanks Thanks Thanks
I used an interdental device (the little brushes you use for inbetween your teeth). Got a bit of gunk out of the hole. I think you also need to do a quick reboot (on-off) of the phone to complete.
I blew and sucked and cut up a cotton bud to fit in the holeand Nothing…..then i left my phone for 5 mins.
Just by habbit i picked it up to check it and and and it was working. Awesome Jakub Siwczak
Thank you so much…It worked…back to “Volume.”
Nothing worked. I never used a headphone eversince I bought this new phone. It must be water.
Thank you so much for your advice! I looked in the jack, and there was a piece of fuzz in there. I got it out, and there is no more problem! I can’t thank you enough!
Thank you very much….
Need help cannot get the headphone off please Ive tried so much and cannot get it off
I tried it all…sim card…Bic ball point pen trick…Q-tip moistened withCRC electrical contact cleaner (available at Home Depot)…none of those worked for me but compressed air did! Thanks to all who chimed in. You saved me $850.
I used the Bic method and it worked one touch. Thank you for sharing this!
Amazing- the Bic pen trick worked perfectly!!! I was completely skeptical too. Thank you so much! I was even able to reassemble my pen afterwards. Absolutely the best online advice Ive ever gotten.
Much appreciation!
I tried using a cotton swab at first but there didnt seem to be any debris in the hole and my roommate found me in the midst of my frustration and suggested using a hairdryer. I had nothing to lose so I held up her hairdryer to the headphone jack and when I turned my iphone back on it worked!
an air duuster did the trick !
Phone is two weeks old and still its stuck in headphone mode. ! But thanks for your knowledge!
Incredible and very knowledgeable advice ! Unfortunately my I phone jack is the problem thank you very much
Thank U thank U thank U. I used a cotton swab and it fixed it. My phone was only three months old
Thanks a lot. I tried all the tricks you listed and some more from the comments like using a cotton swap. The for the last time I plugged my earphone, gave up and wanted to put my phone in silent ring mode. There there it is wow!! So happy and I just wanted to thank you and all the contributors in this post!